2009

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2002

2001

Third Working Group Meeting on Economic Instruments

17-18 February 2003, Geneva, Switzerland

The UNEP Working Group on Economic Instruments for Environmental Policy, consisting of 30 experts from academic, governmental, non-governmental and intergovernmental institutions, was established in 2001 and provides a forum to help define modalities for the use of economic instruments for environmental management and sustainable development. A key aim of the Group is to identify ways to enhance policy coordination at the national level related to the design and use of economic instruments.

At its third meeting, the Working Group reviewed two UNEP working papers, entitled The Use of Economic Instruments in Environmental Policy: Opportunities and Challenges and Economic Instruments in Biodiversity-Related Multilateral Environmental Agreements. The Group also exchanged national experiences on the use of economic instruments in achieving environmental policy objectives through the presentation and discussion of five UNEP-commissioned country projects.

The Use of Economic Instruments in Environmental Policy Report provides practical guidance on where and when economic instruments may be appropriate and effective. The report sets forth a four-stage framework to assist decision-makers, especially in developing countries, in selecting, designing and applying economic instruments to address a specific environmental problem. The report was revised based on the comments provided by the Working Group and published in 2004 for wide circulation.

Using the framework presented in the publication, five UNEP-commissioned country projects - Kenya, Philippines, Indonesia, Argentina and Uganda - presented their experiences on the application of economic instruments in various sectors. Their accounts provided insights into the practical use of the methodology proposed within the Opportunities, Prospects and Challenges Report.

The second paper discussed was on Economic Instruments in Biodiversity-Related Multilateral Environmental Agreements. Prepared in close collaboration between UNEP and the CBD, CITES and Ramsar Convention Secretariats, this paper explores the potential of using economic instruments in achieving the objectives of these MEAs, analyses existing provisions in these Conventions for the use of economic instruments and provides practical examples for their implementation at the national level. The paper was also revised and published in 2004.

Participants expressed their appreciation of the outcome of the meeting. For many attending the event, the exchange of ideas and experiences was valuable and the process itself was a form of capacity building. Furthermore, it was decided that future work should focus on marketing and field-testing the two reports, and that future activities could additionally look at economic instruments applied in a broader development context and in alleviating specific environmental problems.